Houstonian 1987 - The University. 1987. Special Collections, University of Houston Libraries. University of Houston Digital Library. Web. March 19, 2018. https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb/item/25027/show/24708.

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File Name

index.cpd

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Item Description

Title

The University

Format (IMT)

image/jpeg

File Name

yearb_1987_080.jpg

Transcript

WBBmm*m£ma^mmm
What Kind Of Neighbors:
?
Paul Moore, UH's Vice-
Chancellor For Student Affairs.
Since the end of World War
II, the University of Houston
has experienced a positive trend
of growth, expansion and development while much of the
surrounding community has experienced a different type of
change.
At UH, new buildings have
sprung up to serve the increasing number of students who
seem hardly to notice the beautiful fountains and numerous
sculptures as they walk between
class. Across Scott Steet, in the
neighborhood that has come to
be known as the Third Ward,
many of the buildings are win-
dowless, boarded up, empty.
The people are plagued by
crack houses that operate almost unmolested by the city's
police. The streets are full of
potholes, and garbage piles up
in vacant lots. Many of the children drop out of school before
they are old enough to realize
its importance.
While UH seems to have
largely ignored its neighbors, in
recent years concerns about the
institution's image, and its ability to get students to live on
campus have focused some attention on Third Ward's problems. It has become obvious
that those problems are affecting UH, and administration officials have taken an interest in
improving some of those conditions. But many Third Ward
residents view UH's concern
with mistrust and suspicion.
Social and economic factors
that have historically divided
the two entities today present
formidable obstacles to the establishment of a working relationship. UH seems faced with
the question: What kind of
neighbors are we?
Paul Moore, Vice Chancellor
for Student Affairs, said that
UH is very interested in devel
oping better communications
with the surrounding community. "We are always looking
for opportunities to improve
conversation. The real issue is
probably, have we had enough
to produce the optimum relationship? And the answer, I
think, is no. But I believe that
there is an interest and a will to
improve that."
As a sociologist at Texas
Southern University, Dr. Robert
Bullard is familiar with attitudes
held by Third Ward residents.
He said, "Many people don't
see any relationship between the
University of Houston and the
community. They know that
UH is on the other side of Scott
Street, but Scott Street is a line
of demarkation and we all
know it."
Unnecessary Friction: One
of the reasons this line of demarkation exists is economic.
According to the 1980 census,
more than 50 percent of the
households in the three census
tracts bordering UH on Scott
Street had an annual income of
80